From Designer to Deal Maker: How Brandi Bailey Is Building Trust at Snyder Construction Group

Construction is often described as a numbers-driven business. Schedules, budgets, and bids matter. But as Brandi Bailey explains, long-term success in construction depends just as much on trust, communication, and people.

In this episode of The Comms Exchange, hosts Rachel Ledet and Christianne Brunini sit down with Brandi Bailey, Vice President of Strategic Development at Snyder Construction Group, to talk about how she helps lead growth, strengthen relationships, and differentiate a construction company in a highly competitive market.

Snyder Construction Group is a family-owned construction company with nearly 50 years of experience delivering projects across multiple states. As Brandi makes clear, growth for a builder like Snyder is about alignment, reputation, and showing up consistently for clients, partners, and communities.

“At the end of the day, there are five other contractors who can build the project,” Brandi said. “What really matters is how the process feels, who the people are, and whether clients trust you.”

A Nontraditional Path Into Construction Leadership

Brandi did not start her career in construction business development. She spent more than a decade as a commercial interior designer, working closely with architects, owners, and contractors. That experience gave her a front-row seat to how projects are evaluated and how builders are selected.

“I’ve been on the other side of the table,” she said. “I know what it feels like to be qualifying a contractor, going through preconstruction, trying to decide who you’re going to partner with.”

That perspective now shapes how she approaches her role at Snyder. Rather than leading with sales language, Brandi focuses on listening, understanding client needs, and connecting people to the right solutions.

“I realized that the business development and communications piece is something I really love,” she said. “It’s about solving problems, not selling.”

Differentiating a Construction Brand in a Price-Driven Market

Construction is an industry where price often dominates conversations. But Brandi believes brand and culture are what ultimately set firms apart.

“It doesn’t matter what I say about us,” she explained. “What matters is how people experience working with us.”

At Snyder, that means gathering feedback from clients, architects, engineers, subcontractors, and internal teams. Brandi tracks how the company is described in the market and ensures those perceptions align with reality.

“The words we hear most often are collaborative, steady, trustworthy, proactive, and good communicators,” she said. “Those feel right to who we are.”

She also emphasized that branding in construction does not live solely in marketing materials. It lives in the field, on job sites, and in everyday interactions.

“There’s no better brand ambassador than the people delivering the work,” Brandi said. “Our project managers, superintendents, and teams are the ones shaping our reputation every day.”

Building With Values, Not Just Volume

As Snyder expands into new markets, Brandi helps guide growth through the company’s core values: Build Up, Build Out, Build Within.

Those values serve as a filter for deciding which projects to pursue and which partnerships make sense.

“We don’t want to grow just for the sake of growth,” she said. “It has to be good for our company, good for our clients, good for our subcontractors, and good for the community.”

That mindset is especially important in construction, where overextension can strain teams and compromise quality. For Brandi, sustainable growth means knowing when to say no.

A Deep Commitment to Affordable Housing

One of Snyder Construction Group’s key focus areas is affordable housing, including Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) projects. More than half of the company’s annual work is in housing, with a significant portion dedicated to affordable developments across multiple states.

“Housing is a basic need,” Brandi said. “If you don’t have stable, safe housing, it affects everything. Health, opportunity, quality of life.”

Snyder specializes not only in new construction, but also in rehabilitation and adaptive reuse, transforming existing housing stock and revitalizing communities. Brandi has seen firsthand how these projects change lives.

“When you see the before and after, the pride people take in where they live, it reminds you why this work matters,” she said.

Rather than approaching affordable housing transactionally, Brandi focuses on building long-term partnerships with developers, syndicators, and community stakeholders.

“I want to be a connector for you,” she said. “That’s how real relationships are built.”

Risk, Empathy, and Leadership

Brandi also shared how working in China early in her career shaped her leadership style. Living and working without language fluency taught her to rely on observation, intuition, and empathy.

“You don’t always have all the answers,” she said. “Sometimes you have to step into things before you feel ready.”

That lesson carries through her work at Snyder, where growth, market expansion, and leadership all require calculated risk and self-awareness.

Why This Conversation Matters

This episode of The Comms Exchange offers a candid look at how modern construction companies grow without losing their identity. Brandi Bailey’s story highlights the importance of communication, values, and people in an industry often reduced to numbers and schedules.

Construction may be about building structures, but as Brandi makes clear, it is ultimately about building trust.

Listen to this week’s episode of The Comms Exchange, From Designer to Deal Maker: How Brandi Bailey Leads Business Development at Snyder Construction, featuring Snyder Construction Vice President of Strategic Development & Marketing, Brandi Bailey.

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